Over the last few years visitors to Londonderry have been able to delight to a new U-Pick delectable, peaches. Grown by all of the farms located in historic Londonderry, New Hampshire, peaches are adding a delicious and savory taste to the local U-Pick season. August is known as National Peach Month

Londonderry’s four farms; Mack’s Apples, Sunnycrest Farm, Elwood Orchard and Merrill’s Farm all offer peaches and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. Just a short trip from Boston, the White Mountains, and the Seacoast, the setting allows for a relaxing afternoon picking and eating delicious home grown products with family and friends.

Did you know…
You can ripen peaches by placing them in a brown paper bag for two to three days. Sliced, fresh peaches should be tossed in lemon or lime juice to prevent browning. The juice from peaches makes a wonderful moisturizer, and it can be found in many brands of cosmetics. A peach pit contains hydrocyanic acid, which is a poisonous substance.

Peach Picking Facts

Pick with your eyes not your hands; squeezing fruit will cause them to bruise. Remember look for yellow color.

Gently twist fruit off tree and place in basket as if you were handling eggs, peaches bruise very easily!

A peach is softer than most fruit, so it is important to pick a peach gently, with little pressure. Using the sides of your fingers rather your fingertips helps to avoid bruising.

Grab the peach firmly and pull it straight off the branch. A soft peach picked off the tree must be used within two days.

Peaches are not always available as a U-Pick product in Londonderry. At times, the crop is too small and thus valuable and will only be picked by workers. If a winter has a long very cold period it will affect the fruit. When temps drop below -17 for more than 6 hours most of the buds will be killed. Many of the peaches in town are grown on higher parts of the orchards to minimize the kill.

Business is Good.

This article originally appeared in the Union Leader and has been republished here with permission. La Carreta taking over former Whippersnappers space in Londonderry By Eli Okun Union Leader Correspondent LONDONDERRY — La Carreta Mexican Restaurant signed a lease this week to take over the former Whippersnappers location, bringing their popular brand of sit-down, […]